Iowa Poll: Education and health care are major worries for Democratic primary voters

We asked more than 500 likely Democratic primary voters which issues are among their top concerns in this state in the latest Iowa Poll.
Michael Zamora, mzamora@dmreg.com

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Social studies teacher Adam Daley helps a group of senior students with their government course work Wednesday, May 17, 2017, inside the Flex Academy classroom at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines.(Photo: Michael Zamora/Register file photo)Buy Photo

The vast majority of likely Democratic primary voters say cuts to education spending, inadequate and unaffordable health care, and inadequate mental health facilities are major threats to Iowa's future, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

Other issues that worry a majority of these governor's race primary voters: privatized Medicaid, restrictions on abortion, water quality, a lack of well-paying jobs and inadequate spending on infrastructure.

The Selzer & Co. survey, conducted May 13-15, involved 501 people who say they will definitely vote in the statewide Democratic Party primary election for governor on June 5, or have already voted. Only 62 percent of the respondents are self-identified Democrats — the rest are independents or Republicans.

The respondents were asked to rate several concerns as either a major threat, a minor threat or not much of a threat to Iowa's future.

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Eighty-one percent of Democratic primary voters believe the lack of education funding is a major threat to Iowa's future, a higher percentage than any other issue including inadequate and unaffordable health care (79%) and inadequate mental health care facilities (78%).(Photo: Des Moines Register)

Deep concern about education

Eighty-one percent of Democratic primary voters believe the lack of education funding is a major threat, a higher percentage than for any other issue.

"We continue to starve education," said poll respondent Julie VanDyke of Iowa City, a secretary who calls herself an "angry mom" and an advocate for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade schools. Schools are at a breaking point, she said.

This year's 1 percent appropriation represents about $32 million in additional state aid as part of a $3.2 billion school funding package for the 2018-19 school year. Lawmakers also approved about $14 million to address state and district costs per pupil and to help equalize transportation costs for school districts across the state.

Iowa's health care a concern

Nearly 80 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say "inadequate and unaffordable health care" also is a major threat to the state's future, along with 78 percent who listed "inadequate mental health care facilities" as a major threat.

"I am a pretty big supporter of the Affordable Care Act," said poll respondent Wade Stoner, a quality engineer from Peterson, a small community in northwest Iowa's Clay County. "I think they need to fix it, but I think they are going to let it fail and they are going to come up with something that is going to be worse for us.”

Poll respondent Shane Boeve of Tipton, an educational administrator and former elementary school principal, said he's had firsthand experience with families struggling to find support for loved ones with mental health needs.

"They are at a loss, and they don't know where to go and what to do," he said.

The Iowa Legislature approved bills addressing both health care and mental health during its 2018 session.

The Legislature and the governor also decided to allow the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to work with Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield to sell health insurance plans to its members that don't comply with the federal Affordable Care Act.

The law says the plans are not health insurance and can't be regulated like health insurance.

Democratic primary voters also are worried about the state's decision to turn over management of its government-run Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled to private companies. Nearly 70 percent cited the privatization as a major threat.

Poll respondent Sandahl, who has osteoarthritis and lymphatic system issues, said it's harder to access health care under privatized Medicaid. She also finds that the private-managed system is more bureaucratic and offers less coverage.

"I think they should just get rid of it because the companies are more concerned about making money than giving people the care they need," Sandahl said.

The law, which goes into effect on July 1, will require physicians to conduct an abdominal ultrasound to test for a fetal heartbeat on any woman seeking an abortion. If a heartbeat is detected, a physician cannot perform an abortion.
Des Moines Register

Abortion restrictions a threat to Iowa, primary voters say

Democratic primary voters are also concerned about abortion restrictions.

In the wake of Reynolds signing a law that would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected — one of several abortion limits from the Republican-dominated Capitol — 59 percent cited restrictions as a major threat to Iowa, the poll found.

Poll respondent Sandy Gracey, a hair stylist from Norwalk, said she normally avoids talking about politics with her customers unless they bring it up or are old friends. But customers lately have been "up in arms" over the "fetal heartbeat" law, she said.

Asked if it's possible that some of her customers might vote against Republicans who were behind Iowa's new abortion law, Gracey replied, “Oh, yes. Oh, yes."

Female Democratic primary voters are more likely to believe abortion restrictions are a major threat than male voters — but at least half of both genders see them as a threat.

More than 80 percent of likely voters with no affiliation to a religious group believe abortion restrictions are a major threat.

Voters see other threats as well

Other issues listed as major threats by a majority of likely Democratic primary voters surveyed included water quality (55 percent); a lack of well-paying jobs (52 percent); and inadequate spending on infrastructure (51 percent).

The lack of jobs that pay well was more concerning to Iowa Democratic primary voters who earn less than $50,000 a year than those who earn above that, the poll found.

When given a list of potential major threats to Iowa, only trade tariffs and a "lack of rural development" did not net a majority of likely voters.

In rural areas, however, more primary voters were likely to say that trade is a major concern than those in other areas of the state, but they were no more likely to say lack of rural development poses a major threat than those who live elsewhere.

About the poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted May 13-15 for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 501 Iowans ages 18 or older who say they will definitely vote or have already voted early in the Democratic primary this June.

Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted 1,880 households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age and sex to reflect the general population based on recent census data.

Questions based on the subsample of 501 likely Democratic primary voters have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to the Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.